House Republicans help nix bill that would ban abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned

Rep. Matthew Hill engages with a pro-choice protester on March 7 outside the House chamber. Hill has been a vocal proponent of the an anti-abortion "heartbeat bill," but voted against a bill that would trigger a ban on abortion in Tennessee if Roe v. Wade were overturned.(Photo: Natalie Allison)

A bill that would trigger a ban on abortion in Tennessee if Roe v. Wade is overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court was killed Wednesday in a House subcommittee.

The legislation, HB 1029, brought by Rep. Susan Lynn, R-Mount Juliet, is known as the "Human Life Protection Act" and has been supported by Tennessee Right to Life, the state's top anti-abortion advocacy group.

Thanks to the "no" votes of two Republicans, the bill failed in the House Public Health Subcommittee by one vote.

"I was really counting on my colleagues to support the legislation," Lynn said after the vote, maintaining that her bill is a "really good piece of legislation" that she will bring again.

Lynn's bill, sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Dolores Gresham, R-Somerville, is also the preferred anti-abortion legislation of Lt. Gov. Randy McNally this session, he told reporters last week.

McNally, R-Oak Ridge, cited concerns with another bill that would prohibit abortions from being performed after a fetal heartbeat is detected, legislation that has already passed in the House but not yet been taken up by Senate committees.

"We’re trying to construct a law that won't get us into court on the losing side," McNally said last week, adding that the Senate wouldn't vote on the heartbeat bill until it passes its version of the trigger ban legislation.

The sponsor of the House's heartbeat bill, Rep. Micah Van Huss, R-Jonesborough, and another vocal proponent of the heartbeat bill, Rep. Matthew Hill, R-Jonesborough, joined the committee's two Democrats in voting against the trigger ban legislation on Wednesday.

"There was some talk that they may be competing, and I would dispel that and point out to people how I felt like most of the bills are actually complementary to each other," Lynn said. "One takes effect now, one takes effect at a date that is unknown, and both have the same aim."

Lynn said that despite her legislation dying, she does hope the fetal heartbeat bill makes it out of the Senate.

Rep. Ron Gant, assistant leader of the House GOP Caucus, was listed as a co-sponsor of the bill and stood by Lynn as she presented on the legislation Wednesday.

He said afterward that he couldn't comment on his colleague's intentions for voting against the bill, but would have been glad to see it rolled forward a week to talk further about their concerns.

"I would obviously have liked to see House Bill 1029 advance today, and at least have more discussion, more conversation, but we weren’t given that opportunity today," Gant said. "It's just very disappointing."

Gant said he continues to support the bill and hopes to see it reintroduced.

During discussion on the bill, Hill posed a question about whether the legislation would be "an illegal delegation of our authority."

Matt King, the committee attorney, said that because the legislation doesn't repeal existing abortion statutes upon becoming effective, there would be a "possible issue of a vagueness challenge that would need to be settled by a court."

Paul Linton, a consultant with Tennessee Right to Life, countered that, if passed, the trigger ban would "take precedence over previously enacted law," and pointed to several other states, including Kentucky, Louisiana and South Dakota, that have passed similar laws contingent on the repeal of Roe v. Wade.

Reach Natalie Allison at nallison@tennessean.com. Follow her on Twitter at @natalie_allison.

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